The problem to which this invention is directed relates to the difficulty of labels, especially but not limited to those being used on bottles, after the label has become wet, losing a preferred appearance.
It is well recognised that the attractiveness of some products depends upon the ongoing good appearance of labels present on the outside of a container containing the product.
Such a situation certainly applies to wine, and especially those wines that might normally be subjected to moisture during cooling or being kept cool, such as some white wines.
While it is known to use coated papers for the production of some labels, many prefer the appearance of uncoated labels which have, for some, a preferred appearance.
The problem with an uncoated paper surface is however, that where this is subjected over a period to humidity or liquid, infusion of the liquid into the paper will cause the appearance of the paper to change, and the paper also might pucker.
Furthermore, when the label is exposed to moisture for some time, the label can become completely saturated and due to the inherent composition of paper, can become susceptible to damage as it becomes fragile. If the damage is significant, the label can be come an eyesore. Furthermore, as the label becomes saturated it then loses opacity, which affects the visual appearance of not only the label, making it difficult to read, but also detracts from the overall appearance of the bottle itself.
Under some conditions, the moisture can affect the adhesive holding the label to the bottle, so that the label will become detached from the bottle making identification of the contents troublesome.
Even though the label itself may not separate from the container to which it is attached under such wet conditions, nonetheless it is considered highly disadvantageous for ongoing best appearance that such a label simply does not look as good once it has been wet.
This has caused significant difficulty and there have been previous unsuccessful attempts to overcome this problem.
One way in which others have attempted to overcome this problem is by laminating the back of uncoated paper with a clear plastic film.
Unfortunately, this did not appear to provide a substantive solution.